Difference between revisions of "Oxi Day"
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| − | At the start of the [[World | + | At the start of the [[World War II|Second World War]], Mussolini, through Ambassador Grazzi, delivered an ultimatum to the then Greek Prime Minister, [[Ioannis Metaxas]], demanding that Greece allow Italian troops to occupy the country, or Italy would declare war and invade. Three hours were given to reply. |
After reading the demands in the early morning hours of [[October 28|28 October]] [[1940]], Metaxas rejected the ultimatum and replied with a simple Greek word: Oxi! - (no! ''Greek: Όχι!''). This has since become a Greek battle cry that resurfaces defiantly every 28 October on walls throughout [[Greece]] and [[Cyprus]] and indeed amongst the thousands of [[Greeks#Greeks_around_the_world|Greek communities around the world]] (which number about six million). | After reading the demands in the early morning hours of [[October 28|28 October]] [[1940]], Metaxas rejected the ultimatum and replied with a simple Greek word: Oxi! - (no! ''Greek: Όχι!''). This has since become a Greek battle cry that resurfaces defiantly every 28 October on walls throughout [[Greece]] and [[Cyprus]] and indeed amongst the thousands of [[Greeks#Greeks_around_the_world|Greek communities around the world]] (which number about six million). | ||
Revision as of 12:27, August 31, 2007
At the start of the Second World War, Mussolini, through Ambassador Grazzi, delivered an ultimatum to the then Greek Prime Minister, Ioannis Metaxas, demanding that Greece allow Italian troops to occupy the country, or Italy would declare war and invade. Three hours were given to reply.
After reading the demands in the early morning hours of 28 October 1940, Metaxas rejected the ultimatum and replied with a simple Greek word: Oxi! - (no! Greek: Όχι!). This has since become a Greek battle cry that resurfaces defiantly every 28 October on walls throughout Greece and Cyprus and indeed amongst the thousands of Greek communities around the world (which number about six million).
The holiday also marks the date in 1940 when Greece entered the Second World War. Today, celebrations of Oxi Day culminate in a large, lavish military parade down the main boulevards of Athens and Thessaloniki. Soldiers, tanks, armoured vehicles and students parade through most Greek cities. Politicans tend to grab the opportunity to show their own spirit to the nation and to stress how it should be continued in future generations.